We the Children

We the children continue to enjoy the great Kung Fu Panda series and give Kung Fu Panda 3 a resounding thumbs up. From saving multifarious species, Po’s attention this time around is dedicated to saving his own kith and kin. A great entertainer

15.5/20

The Lizard Chronicles

Godzilla aka Gojira is yet another tired remake of a hackneyed franchise. Barring a few visual effects that stand out somewhat, the balance is largely a smorgasbord of Gojira playing the guardian angel and trying to save the West Coast of the United States from some mythical destructive insect species, thereby following the laws of Nature of a gargantuan scale. Again, vague memories of the movie and its many clichés, without remembering a single concrete detail. My bad. Or is it?

11/20

Recall, Run

Post World War III, the great oppressor of history – the United Federation of Britain (UFB) lords it over the Colony (loosely, today’s Australia) – and the latter send a daily retinue of workers to the former through a subterranean transport system referred to as the Fall. Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), a nondescript worker from the Colony with an inexplicably stunning wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale), decides to go deeper into his mind to find an escape from daily monotony and a distraction from disturbing dreams that could well be memories. Quaid enters virtual reality – through Total Recall – as a secret agent. And here is where Quaid’s life blurs between fiction and reality – and even love interest Melina (Jessica Biel) and access to none other than Matthias (Bill Nighy) – the kingpin of the Resistance – could well be elements in a very elaborate virtual reality experience. Unlike its predecessor 22 years ago, this edition Total Recall leaves the viewer in some doubt as to fiction and reality, even as the action is as immersive as it could possibly be

13.5/20

Theatrical Escape

 

In the 70’s, when the USA was less than popular with the newly anointed Khomeni and the Islamic radicals that had just taken over Tehran, six US nationals find themselves holed up at the Canadian embassy in Tehran. In a one-man mission led by CIA operative Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), the group attempts to flee Tehran under the guise of being a film crew filming a science fiction movie – Argo. So – does the group pull off a near-impossible – and barely sanctioned – escape? Argo may show up the fundamentalists of Iran as less than bright, but that is not the intent, really. A simple and well-dramatized sequence of events makes this movie worth the while

 

13/20

The John

It seems that in the age of special effects, we, the humble viewers, are consigned to a life of hackneyed scripts, boring characters, and stereotypical morality plays, even as the director and producer have fun with, well, special effects. Its been a while since I actually got a headache from watching a movie (due respect to Edgar Rice Burroughs, he just ran into a veritable onslaught of similar movies). On to the storyline. John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), an American Civil War Confederate General, is mysteriously transported to Mars. Lo and behold, we are cast into a Civil War in Mars (!) wherein the intrepid John Carter, on account of his sublime jumping skills, finds a leadership role in leading the planet’s good guys, notably the people of Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins) against the evil hordes of Matai Shang (Mark Strong). Some of the pioneers of the science fiction genre need to be given an honorable burial, instead of being inflicted upon unsuspecting viewers

9/20